Overview

Is Hell-Fire Warfare in Mankind's Near Future?The Inner Worlds Federation has grown too big to be ignored, and is pushing for every advantage, trying to back the Galactic Republic into a corner. A trade treaty is under negotiation on Tempus between these two dominant forces from all the settled planets of our galaxy.Galactic Marine Major Beakham, his Staff Sergeant Werner, on leave, are diverted into duties for Naval Intelligence, & a Navy cook named Hambly stumbles into their group. Three vacationing young women from Atribbe, get caught up in the wild intrigues surrounding this impending treaty, too, by a chance meeting with the murky personage of Henry Merlin Quakemeyer, who has been sent by Naval Intell to run the operation using Beakham and Werner.Henry is on Tempus for more than just adjudicating.An aging Mei Hsiu Chen, now 200 years old, one of the founders of the Federation, is busy plotting, & his son, Mei Mengchu, has a role to play as well, whether he wants to or not.Action on a historic and interstellar scale is coming, and perhaps a devastating galaxy-wide war.First, a terror attack on Tempus.Next?